Make a Stove from a soda can!!

Not only was this funny, but real interesting...

How to make a fire with a condom!
www.wonderhowto.com...

Originally posted by KaginD
Well, what I was trying to find was a way to make a stove that I would be able to make things like bread in. I figure in the event of a depression, we won't be able to afford electricity. I have an electric stove, so it would be useless in that case. Anyone know how to make a stove that I would be able to bake bread in?

I hate asking that, but I am so accustom to the easy way of living that I never even gave it thought.

If you have plenty of sunshine available then solar is a good source to cook with. A solar oven is easy to make and you can bake just about anything in them. Here's a video on how to prepare the bread and baking it.


Hope this helps. The dutch oven is really cool too. Thank you for this thread I like learning new ways and the soda can is pretty cool.

Here's some cool solar cooker/ovens.
Solar Cookers & Ovens

[edit on 10/16/2008 by Solarskye]

edit
removed post (my post was pointless)

Sailor

[edit on 16-10-2008 by Sailor1]

The soda can stove is neat -

but let's be serious. That's a lot of work to boil a half cup of water. I was cringing at the video - the first stab of the knife, the guy very nearly went through the other side of the can and stabbed himself in the hand)

Things like this make for nice trivia, but are fairly useless in reality.

I agree with everyone else on here saying the dutch oven is the way to go. I've got two of them, and I've used them for just about everything. Have not done bread, but thanks to the poster above for the sourdough recipe

Another good one for bread is naan/roti. Very easy to prepare, cooks fast, and tastes incredible.

I guess the most important thing though is this: learn to cook. Amazing how many people get caught up with gadgets and a million different ways to start a fire without matches, but are clueless on what to do next..



[edit on 16-10-2008 by vox2442]

reply to post by vox2442


Couple of good points in your post. First, always good to have a couple of dutch ovens. Ive seen people stack them 6 or 7 high. Just be sure to have enough coals in between them to keep the heat up.

Stacked Ovens

2nd, about learning to cook. Couldnt agree with you more. So many people seem interested in cool things for their camp or BOB that they never learn the real basic stuff, like keeping a sourdough starter alive.

This problem also works the other way but even worse. Thats people who rely so heavily on cookbooks and kitchen gadgets in a modern kitchen. Toss some of these domestic "chefs" into the woods with nothing but a pan some basic ingrediants and they are done for.

Originally posted by KaginD
Well, what I was trying to find was a way to make a stove that I would be able to make things like bread in. I figure in the event of a depression, we won't be able to afford electricity. I have an electric stove, so it would be useless in that case. Anyone know how to make a stove that I would be able to bake bread in?

I hate asking that, but I am so accustom to the easy way of living that I never even gave it thought.

I'm not an expert, but I would think a setup that could store a decent amount of electricity could be created with solar cells and/or an exercise bike. Then you have your choice of plugging in an electric skillet, automatic breadmaker, coffeemaker, waffle iron, etc. If you could get something like that during "normal" times, it would be worth it's weight in gold during a sit-x or depression.

[edit on 16-10-2008 by maus80]

HA! now I know how to make indian food.
Thanks for pointing out this website alot of great info.

S/F

Go on Amazon and get the SAS survival manual. It is LOADED with info. There are a ton of books out there on survival, try to build up a survival library of any info you can use. I bought books on gardening, off the grid energy production, survival, etc. You can sometimes find them used cheap.
Also you might want to try the following
Get the following items:
1. Bleach. A few drops can make water drinkable.
2. Fishing equipment. Being able to fish if you live near water means you wont starve.
3. magnifying glass. Better than matches, you will ALWAYS be able to make a fire.
4. A good multitool (thanks survivorman). For obvious reasons its a good thing to have.
5. Learn the stars, you will always be able to navigate. You can also use the sun as a compass. In the morning it will be in the east, if you put the sun on your right shoulder, then you are facing in the general direction of north. In the late afternoon, at your left shoulder, same thing. Use the north star at night.
6. If you dont own a gun, get an air rifle for hunting, you will be able to kill small birds and ducks. If you get hungry enough, BELIEVE ME you will eat these.
7. Learn what the edible plants are where you live. The internet should help with this one.
8. Build up a stockpile of consumables. Food, soap, water medicines. If the supply train is disrupted, you will be glad you stocked up on food. Canned food, rice and beans are cheaper and will at least keep you alive. Dont buy anything that might require refrigeration, there may not be electricity.
8. If you dont have a bicycle, get one.
9. A crankable radio, battery free flashlights are useful. two if you can afford it, and lots of books. You dont want to go crazy.
Start thinking about what you can do if you have to survive. Its not at all hopeless and you will be able to do it if you plan. If you dont have a lot of money, take stock of what you have and what will be useful.
Go to home depot or Lowes TOMORROW and buy lots of seeds for gardening. Might want to get the basic gardening tools as well.
10 DONT PANIC. Think.

Good luck to us all.

I have to vote for the solar oven too, since most places get enough sunlight per day even in winter to make it practical for slow cooking.. and anything you can make from cardboard and foil/mylar has to be good.. You can buy very very shiny emergency blankets for this for very cheap, and who doesn't have a lot of cardboard hanging around?

Thanks for all the input everyone There were a lot of good ideas on this thread. I am going with the Dutch and Solar oven. I am also going to ust he soda can oven. It can only boil a half cup like someone else had mentioned, but it will come in handy for sterilizing and things to that effect.

If you make the pop can stove right you can boil 2 cups of water in about 5 minutes

reply to post by Dar Kuma


You could always get a bigger can that could boil more water and cook up soups etc... How did they bake bread in the biblical days? Just wondering about their technic with no electricity?

Old refidgerators make excellent smokers and I assume as long as they are the metal ones they could make awsome ovens to and spacious. here is a link to build one: members.tripod.com...

[edit on 25-10-2008 by Slickinfinity]

Staying on topic here as per the subject of the thread....a soda can stove is often used by long distance backpackers as an ultralight form of cooking on the trail. However it is inefficient for the most part, but does work, and some stoves use other things other than alcohol. That is what the majority of the soda can stoves are made to use. HEET is also used as a form of fuel (automotive fuel additive) in some of the stoves. They are simple to make and easy to use but can be dangerous in dry conditions. On the plus side, they work great at any altitude and are truely an ultralight solution for cooking while backpacking/hiking. On the minus side, they take some learning to use correctly and are indeed a fire hazard if not used in a safe manner. I hear of several forest fires a year caused by these ultralight wonders.

Another idea is the cat food can stove or tuna can stove, which I have also seen used as a backpacker's stove.

The most viable alternative to that is the Whisperlite International- the most versatile, usable stove out there. It will take nearly any kind of fuel, and this stove is considered the workhorse of the trail. It will function for many years, without breaking down, and is easy to repair even on the trail, with a few simple tools that come with the stove when you purchase it.

That being said, I love the ideas you have all presented here, however are not overly practical for a true situation x, where space, weight and time perhaps will count.

Perhaps one can take a hint from the Native Americans of the USA as well as the Aborigines of Australia- they also make a great flatbread for the trail and home hearth that requires no special preparation and can be prepared in many tasty ways.

Soul Sista